Chase Burns

Chase David Burns

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 210 lb.
• School University of Tennessee, Wake Forest University
• High School Beech High School
• Debut June 24, 2025

• Born January 16, 2003 in Napoli Italy

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Chase Burns was the second overall pick of the 2024 amateur draft, taken by the Cincinnati Reds out of Wake Forest University. He was the second player born outside the United States to be selected, as the first overall pick, Travis Bazzana, was born in Australia. In Chase's case, he was born in Italy but to American parents, his father being in the military, and had grown up in Gallatin, TN. He started his college career at the University of Tennessee, after having been selected by the San Diego Padres in the 20th round of the 2021 amateur draft coming out of high school; it was the draft's final round, and it reflected the fact that everyone expected him to go on to college. He played two years at Tennessee before transferring to Wake Forest for his senior season in 2024, when he went 10-1, 2.70 in 16 starts with 191 strikeouts in 100 innings. That improved his draft stock tremendously, as he had struggled as a sophomore with the Volunteers, getting him moved out of the starting rotation and into the bullpen. He pitched much better in long relief as Tennessee reached the 2023 College World Series. After his outstanding junior season with the Demon Deacons, he was clearly identified as the top pitcher in the 2024 draft, although his selection at such a high rank was a bit of a surprise, given that there were at least four hitters, including Bazzana, who were ranked ahead of him.

He did not pitch professionally in 2024 after signing with the Reds, He made his pro debut on April 4, 2025 for the Dayton Dragons of the Midwest League, pitching four scoreless innings of one-hit ball against the West Michigan Whitecaps. He also struck out six batters. It was clear from the outset that the Reds were going to get him to the majors as fast as possible, and he received a promotion to the AA Chattanooga Lookouts after just three starts. He went 6-1, 1.29 in 8 starts in the Southern League to earn another promotion, this one to AAA and the Louisville Bats on June 9th. In two starts there, he gave up 3 runs in 12 1/3 innings and picked up another win before the Reds announced on June 21st that he would be called up to Cincinnati on June 24th to make his big league debut in a start against the New York Yankees.

In his debut, he got things off in electrifying fashion as he struck out the first five batters he faced in succession, something unseen since at least 1961. He ended up giving up 3 runs in 5 innings while striking out 6; he left trailing 3-0, but the Reds came back to win the game, 5-4, in 11 innings. He became the first pitcher in the modern era to record at least ten strikeouts in four of his first eight outings when he reached double digits in his eighth start on August 8th when he struck out 10 batters in a start against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ten Ks seemed to be his default mode, as he reached exactly that total four times. Also interesting was that in two of the starts in which he failed to record that many, he lasted an inning or less: in his second start on June 30th against the Boston Red Sox, he was chased after only recording one out, having given up 7 runs on 5 hits, while on August 2nd, he started the MLB Speedway Classic against the Atlanta Braves in Bristol, TN, but rain forced the suspension of the game in the bottom of the 1st after he had struck out two of the first three batters he had faced. yet, for all the K's, he was still looking for his first win, as he was 0-3, 6.04 in these first ten starts.

His best pitch is a fastball that has been timed at over 100 mph, and his slider is also considered to be elite.

Notable Achievements

• NL All-Star (2026)

Further Reading

• Michael Avallone: "Red-letter day for Burns (with lots of K's) in pro debut at High-A", mlb.com, April 5, 2025. [1]
• Jason Foster: "Get to know No. 2 Draft pick Chase Burns", mlb.com, July 14, 2024. [2]
• Mark Sheldon: "Burns makes history, gets 'everything I could ask for' in electric debut", mlb.com, June 25, 2025. [3]

Related Sites

• Chase Burns on mlb.com
• BR Register page
• Wake Forest bio